Thursday, May 28, 2015

Well two big things of interest happened this week(with a smaller occuring yesterday) and if you've been off the internet lately, you might've missed hearing about them.1). Convergence Ends.....Confusion abounds:
It really should come as to no surprise that the finale to the event that wasn't supposed to be an event, ended things on a really confusing note. Convergence#8 ended with "the machine god", Brainiac sending Parallax and some other pre-NU52 characters off to stop the original CRISIS from happening. Yes, you read that right CRISIS supposedly now didn't happen....or at least not the way you remember it did.

A couple double-page spreads show what happened to the other earths that Brainiac grabbed, and it looks a little something like this:

Basically the main problem and reason for all these characters having to team-up is ultimately solved off-panel, with Brainiac first going "There's a problem that affects all realities, so you and you and you go fix it", and then in the same breath he goes "Oh wait, nevermind. Crisis averted, problem solved."

So yeah, finally an "event" that delievers just what it set out to do; absolutely nothing. A place-holder and monumental waste of everybody's time and money spent on the main series and tie-ins.

What's even more confusing is the language used by Dildo, that once again, "This was planned all along", and that those other worlds still exist for future use. But then you look at those images, and the previous past continiuites seem to be getting erased/evolved into their current NU52 form.

So that answers my question about where Grant Morrison's Multiversity fits into all this. It still does, even those those other 7 unmarked Earths could've been used to house some of those pre-NU52 worlds.

Confusion, thy name is DC.

2). Veteran writer Gerry Conway appologizes to DC.

Yep, the same guy that publically called out and lambasted DC for their unfair and very fucked up creator royalties policy, recently came out and appologized to DC for being so critical of them.

Here's a sample of his reasons for why the sudden about face courtesy once again of Bleedingcool.com:

"Why do I keep having to learn the same lessons over and over?

Those who follow my blog know that in recent weeks I posted some hot-headed remarks regarding my perception of how DC Comics treats creators. While I stand by at least one of my basic points – I think DC’s policy concerning “derivative” characters is self-defeating – I need to walk back pretty much everything else, especially my characterization of the motives of the men involved in developing, explaining and implementing DC’s creators equity program.

I didn’t leave DC on good terms in the mid-80s. At the time, as you might now guess, I blamed DC for that (and still feel the people involved might have handled things better). But as time has passed, and particularly after my humiliating encounter with my old high school friend, I’ve reconsidered my interpretation of that leaving, and I’ve accepted my own considerable contribution to the collapse of my business relationship with the company.

Unfortunately, my head doesn’t always communicate with my heart. And because I left the comic book business just a few year after I left DC, and spent the following twenty-five years doing other things, when I returned to the field it was as an emotional Rip Van Winkle. My mind had moved on but my heart was stuck in an angry place. Unconsciously, I was looking for proof that the DC Comics of today was the same DC Comics I fought with thirty years ago.

Like I said, I’m an ass.

As Geoff Johns very kindly pointed out to me when I tried to explain my reason for carrying a grudge over the last dealings I had with the company, “Gerry, you’re talking about things that happened when I was twelve years old.”

It was a horrible, humiliating lightbulb moment.

I’m not just an ass, I’m a jackass.

So– Geoff, Dan, Jim, Larry– I’m sorry. Deeply, truthfully, painfully sorry. You deserve more respect and consideration than I’ve given you. I hope this very public apology makes that clear

My immediate thoughts was either he's A). Being truthful and just now realizing his part in some of this, or B). DC paid him some hush money.

It's probably both.

And what really stings about this sudden back-peddeling is that he really and legitimately had/has a case against DC for their attrocious royalties policy. The legal langauage is so confusing and contradictorary that it would take a huge team of the best copyright lawyers in the world, spending around the clock attention to make even some fraction of sense out of all of it.

Not to mention now DC can use Gerry as an example to further screw over other creators when it comes to them attempting to get their due royalties.

Just as soon as he was the biggest asset to the cause, he's now become its biggest and most recent detremint.
I take my victories where I can folks;)3). I got banned from the Comicbookresources.com forum.....for a whole week.

Alright, I guess it doesn't count as beng really all that newsworthy, but I do accept it as small victory.
Bascially I was banned because the moderator of the forum didn't like that I refereed to Mr. Didio as "Dildo", and "Didiot." I could've called him worse, and have here on this blog, but I guess doing it there is a big no no.

Here's my official ban statement:

"You have been banned for the following reason:

Calling Dan DiDio "Dildo" and then a day later "Didiot" is not the way one should discuss a creator on CBR. You have been given a week off to consider how to make your points without sinking to name calling.

Date the ban will be lifted: 06-03-2015, 12:00 PM"

I take my victories where I can folks;)

And now, onto this week's edition of So, Who Would Win?I'll admit I wasn't the first to come up with this match up, but I believe it bears repeating.When you consider the destructive forces of nature the Hulk and Doomsday are, you just now anytime those two are pitted against one another, colossial amounts of property and collaterial damage can and will occur.

Such is the case when the Hulk fights Doomsday.

If you know you're comic history, than you know how the Hulk's powers work: The madder he gets, the stronger he gets, with seeminly no limits to how strong he can theoritically get.

While Doomsday may not have the same deal, he's still pretty damn strong. And when you throw in the fact that his body automatically adapts to any defeat or damage he suffers, then you can see whetre this particualr fight could last long while.....hell weeks, months, even years depending on the circumstances.

Did I mention the Hulk also has a rapid regenerating, healing factor as well? Yeah, looooooooooong fight.

What makes this one so interesting though, is that while the Hulk's had his fair share of fighing similar monsters like Doomsday, I don't think with maybe the exception of the Abomination and the Maestro, he's fought someone so similar to him like Doomsday.

Doomsday on the other hand? I don't think he's really faced someone like the Hulk either, making this match up a truly interesting affair.

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

A rather quick and probably illogical escalation of events, but fuck it, it's pseudo comics right? Not like that;s never happened before.

I'm proud to say these are just two of a very small handful of Transformer figures that I've managed to keep from my childhood. I used to have much more than that, as I was a HUGE Transformers and G.I.Joe fan back in the day.

And of course, as you can see, ol' Sidwswipe and Jazz have seen better days. Hell, Jazz is "borrowing" Starscream's leg, so maybe he should turn himself in as well?;)

These two come from a short-lived wave of non-transformable Transformer figures. They were decent enough for the time, but I wonder now what the hell I was thinking buying them when they didn't even transform. What can I say, I was a dumb kid sometimes back then.

Monday, May 25, 2015

Just wanted to say a big thank you to all the brave men and women, past, present, and future, that have and are, serving in the Armed Forces.

Thank you for your sacrifice, both of life and of time.

Speaking of, here's today's first skit of the week.....

The End

Yeah, I'm not super crazy about how the Toy Biz sculptors stuck that mar-Vel figure with hands like that. Shit man, fists would've been better. I guess they were tring to go with the in flight pose for the hands. If only they'd remake this one, but woth two sets of hands.......

Thursday, May 21, 2015

Welcome to the second edition of Fantasy Team-Up, where I pair up two indivisuals or teams that I've never seen team up, but could and/or should.

Today I'm pairing up the "great destroyer" himself, Dr. Doom with Sinestro.
To me, this one's a no-brainer.
Both men aren't totally evil, despite the methods they use to achieve their goals. Its just that the methods they choose aren't always altrusistic, or considerate of causualties and collateral damage.
If a world/planet has to be destroyed so that they can reach their goals, they'll do it without hesitation.

But again, they're not totally evil.

In fact when it comes to Doom's homeland and Sinestro homeworld, they're both very protective and concerned about their people's well being.

And therein lies a certain degree of honorablity and nobility.
They truly do care about their people, but of course the dickish behavior and arrogence that comes strongly attached to those feelings keeps them from becoming one of the good guys.

Basically they apply the same viewpoint on ruling over their people, that they do towards the rest of the world/universe/multiverse; things would run a lot smoother if they were in charge.
And its that unshakable personal belief that constantly puts them at odds with their super-powered peers.
They're too stubborn and blinded by their extreme hubrus and vaity to ever consider there's another way of doing things. They'd never admit that, either to to other people or themselves, even when faced with the contradictory truth.

Its why they don't play well with others, and never will, so long as they so other people and their peers, as beneath them, unequals in everyway.

Yep, both Doom and Sinestro refuse to believe anybody else could possibly be their better or equal, as we've seen countless times over the years.

So, for both the mutual love of their people, and arrogence that everything would be better if they ran things, I see Dr. Doom and Sinestro as perfect compliments of each other.

Of course you know they'd also quickly plot and scheme to betray the other when the time arrives. But until then, I think these two could accomplish quite a lot together.

And what about Doom and those power rings eh?
To say that Dr. Doom would be a lock for the Green Lantern ring is a massive understatement. But what about the other power rings in the emotional spectrum?

For me the only other rings that make sense right off the bat, would be Sinestro's ring and the Orange ring of Avarice, since Doom has an instatiable appetite for knowledge and power.

Which is another thing Doom and Sinestro have in common; the need to gain more power in order to achieve their goals. Its why Doom always tries to steal the power cosmic, or the Beyonder's powers and Sinestro has his own corps.

So no Hope, Compassion or Love for Doom. He's too cool and calcualted to succumb to Rage, so maybe Life and Death should extreme circumstances present themselves.

Either way, this team-up would be epic.

Let me know what you think in the comments' section.
I hope you guys and gals have a fun and safe Memorial Day weekend.
Remember, its all about our brave men and women in the Armed Forces that we're celebrating for the many sacrifices they and their friends and family members make on our behalf everyday.